Australian house and unit prices continued to beat records with the last Domain Quarterly House Price Report showing that in the December quarter, Australian house prices experienced a rate of growth at 6.5 per cent, with median house prices outstripping $1 million nationally to set a new record high.
House prices have risen three times faster than units over the past year as the report also shows that national medium unit prices also reached a record high with quarterly price growth at 1.9 percent.
Commenting on the state of property prices nationally, Dr. Nicola Powell, Domain Chief of Research and Economics said,
“House and unit prices continue to beat records nationally due to lockdown activity rebounds in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra, high household savings and the ongoing demand from Australians to buy a property.
Demand continues to outstrip supply across a majority of the cities however rapid price growth and affordability issues are likely to shift demand in 2022.
Price growth has slowed from earlier in 2021 but it is higher than last quarter.”
Brisbane property market
Buyers can expect to pay a record high of $792,065 as Greater Brisbane house prices grow by 10.7 per cent over the quarter and 25.7 per cent annually, the steepest increase in almost 18 years.
Unit prices grew by 2 per cent over the quarter and 3.5 per cent annually, for the first time since mid-2016, hitting a new record high of $416,033.
House prices have risen seven times faster than units over the past year, the largest divergence on record pushing the price gap between property types to an all-time high.
Buyer demand remains elevated and continues to run ahead of supply, depleting the total number of advertised homes for sale to a multi-year low.
Supply is 41 % below the five-year average for December, one the deepest declines of all the capital cities.
Dr. Nicola Powell commented,
“The rapid price escalation will prove to be a financial hurdle for entry buyers.
It will also be challenging to upgrade from a unit to a house, particularly against a backdrop of low wages growth.
While housing affordability remains less challenging in Greater Brisbane compared to other cities, the volume of choice is problematic, making it highly competitive for buyers.”
